Proceedings at the governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, took another dimension on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, as some of the witnesses called by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) confessed to having used different signatures in their witness statements.
One of the witnesses, Ademola Adewale, after admitting to using a different signature in his witness statement, also denied a part of his statement to the effect that he saw many voters at his Polling Unit ready and willing to vote but were disenfranchised.
Another PDP witness and a businessman from Iperu in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, Abiodun Sotinwa, also admitted to having used a signature different from his regular signature for daily activities.
He was later caught to have lied about his membership of the PDP when being crossed-examined.
READ ALSO: Ogun tribunal: PDP witnesses admit not reading witness statements
In another development, a witness called by the party, Olufunmilola Desalu, a fashion designer also from Iperu, expressed surprise that her statement was the same as that of Sotinwa, although, she claimed not to have authored the witness statement.
The two statements were discovered after the counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) scrutinised the statements.
When grilled by the INEC counsel on the reason for the similarities, Desalu said: “I think my lawyer is in a better position to answer that question.”
A trader from Iperu, Ariyo Adeola, whose statement did not contain necessary details, came to testify in favour of PDP as she admitted to being the wife of the party’s chairman in Ikenne LGA of Ogun State.
She, however, denied being the ward woman leader of the party.
Another trader from Iperu, Rafiu Hakeem Aro, who was also called by the PDP as a witness, told the tribunal that his witness statement was not written by him.
After a series of contradictions and inconsistencies on the part of all the witnesses, their counsel was compelled to beg for adjournment.
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